The major storyline during last summer’s transfer window was the mass exodus of players from Europe’s elite to the Saudi Pro League.
Ranking only behind the English league in terms of spending, Saudi clubs splurged a whopping £701.3m on a host of top names.
PSG‘s Neymar, Real Madrid‘s Kevin Benzema and Bayern Munich‘s Sadio Mane all made the switch over to the $620 billion (£487bn) Public Investment Fund (PIF) bankrolled league.
But, despite the players earning huge sums of money – with Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo rumoured to be on £173m a year – how have they actually been performing so far?
From Aleksandar Mitrovic ranking as the second highest goalscorer to Jordan Henderson and Roberto Firmino‘s slow start, Mail Sport gives you the rundown of how all the biggest names in the Saudi league are faring.
Cristiano Ronaldo has enjoyed a stellar season so far in the Saudi Pro League for Al Nassr
Aleksandar Mitrovic of Al Hilal has 17 goals in 17 games, three behind Ronaldo’s total of 20
Tearing up the Saudi Pro League since his arrival has been former Man United and Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese forward has 20 goals in just 18 matches so far this season for Al-Nassr, who have since bought Porto forward Otavio for £57m and Man City centre-back Aymeric Laporte for £25m.
After Ronaldo joined the club back in December 2022, Al-Nassr currently sit second in the Saudi Pro League table. Ex-Liverpool ace Sadio Mane, bought for £25m, has also started well for the team, scoring six goals in the campaign.
Another former Premier League forward in Aleksandar Mitrovic has hit the ground running for his Saudi side.
The ex-Fulham man bought for £46m has 17 goals in 17 matches for Al Hilal, who also boast Kalidou Koulibaly (£17m), Ruben Neves (£50m), Malcolm (£57m), Bono (£19m), and Milinkovic-Savic (£37m) in their squad.
They sit top of the table thanks to help from the former Barcelona winger Malcolm, who has scored nine times. Neves only has one goal to his name.
Also doing well in the new breakout league is former Manchester City player Riyad Mahrez, who was bought by Al Ahli for £32m.
The Algerian has eight goals in 19 games, and his side – who bought Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximimin for £24m and Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy for £16m – sit third in the table, six points behind Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
Al Hilal’s Neymar suffered a serious injury…